2026 Academic Leadership Symposium

2026 Academic Leadership Symposium

2026 Academic Leadership Symposium Logo

 

October 1 & 2, 2026 | The Verve Boston Natick

The AISNE 2026 Academic Leadership Symposium is a dynamic learning experience designed for department chairs to deans and instructional coaches. Together, we will focus on building healthy, equitable school ecosystems by integrating educator wellbeing, professional growth, and evaluation. 

You’ll learn in a variety of whole-group sessions, breakouts by role, and “choose your own adventure” workshops. We will engage in practical, role-specific learning grounded in the real challenges of academic leadership. You will leave with actionable plans, strengthened networks, and research-informed tools to support thriving teaching and learning communities.

This symposium is designed for the full range of academic leadership roles in independent schools:

  • Department Chairs
  • Division Heads
  • Deans of Academics
  • Deans of Faculty
  • Deans of Teaching and Learning
  • Directors of Learning Support
  • Instructional Coaches
  • Academic Deans

Throughout the event, we will gather in role-based groups for targeted breakout conversations, ensuring the frameworks covered are grounded in the specific realities of each role.

Pricing and Hotel

Number of Attendees AISNE Member Schools Non-Member School
1 – 3 $569/pp $669/pp
4 – 9 $509/pp $609/pp
10 – 19 $455/pp $555/pp

 

Your registration includes breakfast and lunch, as well as a cocktail reception on Day 1, and breakfast on Day 2. Please note that hotel reservations are not included.

Friday Afternoon Optional Add-On: Riverbend School or Walnut Hill School for the Arts Campus Visit
$35 per person | 12:30–2:30 PM

Extend your symposium experience with a visit to either Riverbend School or Walnut Hill School for the Arts. This optional add-on includes lunch, a guided campus tour, and a Q&A/discussion with school leaders and community members. You will have the opportunity to learn more about the school’s programs, spaces, and approach while engaging in meaningful conversation with fellow attendees.

 

REGISTER HERE

We strive to create an inclusive learning environment for all. If you have any questions or accessibility needs, please contact us at info@aisne.org.

Hotel Information
The Verve Hotel Boston Natick, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
1360 Worcester Street, Natick, MA

AISNE has a block of rooms reserved at the The Verve Hotel for the evening of October 1. The rate is $169/nt for a standard king room. To book your reservation please click here. Please note that reservations to the AISNE block must be made on or before Monday, August 31, 2026, and are based on availability.

Agenda at a Glance

Thursday, October 1

  • 8:00 – 8:45 AM | Breakfast & Registration
  • 8:45 – 9:15 AM | Welcome, Structured Networking, & Symposium Overview
  • 9:15 – 10:30 AM | Session 1: Understanding Your Leadership Landscape
  • 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM | Session 2: The Climate of Your School Community
  • 12:00 – 1:00 PM | Lunch & Networking
  • 1:00 – 2:00 PM | Session 3: Nurturing the Conditions for Growth / Choose Your Own Adventure Part 1
    • Three distinct options will be offered.
  • 2:15 – 3:15 PM | Session 4: Tending the Soil of Wellbeing and Growth / Choose Your Own Adventure Part 2
    • Choose a second breakout from the choices.
  • 3:30 – 4:45 PM | Session 5: Reflections & Closing for Day 1
  • 5:00 – 6:00 PM | Cocktails & Networking

Friday, October 2

  • 7:30 – 8:30 AM | Breakfast & Networking
  • 8:30 – 9:45 AM | Session 6: Cultivating Growth Through Role-Specific Consultancies
  • 10:00 – 10:45 AM | Session 7: Designing Conditions for Sustainable Growth
  • 11:00 – 12:00 PM | Reflection, Connection, and Next Steps
  • 12:00 PM | Symposium Farewell
  • 12:30 – 2:30 PM | Optional School Visits

 

Agenda

Thursday, October 1

8:00 – 8:45 AM | Breakfast & Registration
You will be seated together with peers sharing your role. These groupings will the anchor role-specific breakout conversations throughout the symposium.

8:45 – 9:15 AM | Welcome, Structured Networking, & Symposium Overview
Our facilitators will welcome you to the symposium and lead you in an opening activity that focuses on your place in your school’s leadership structure.

9:15 – 10:30 AM | Session 1: Understanding Your Leadership Landscape
In this opening, facilitators Lori, Kawai, and Tamisha will establish the foundations for our work over the next day and a half, including foundational practices for grounded leadership. They will share that these types of rituals and practices can be useful for individual and collective grounding for a group. Drawing upon the work of Integrating Educator Wellbeing, Growth, and Evaluation, we will explore the role ecosystems play in academic leadership, and the ways equity, wellbeing, growth, and evaluation are interconnected elements of the school ecosystem. 

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM | Session 2: The Climate of Your School Community
Build on the morning’s work by completing a landscape assessment about the health of your ecosystem to determine your agency as leaders (at every level) and where you want to devote greater attention.   

12:00 – 1:00 PM | Lunch & Networking
We will enjoy a delicious luncheon buffet as we are seated in role based groups.

1:00 – 2:00 PM | Session 3: Nurturing the Conditions for Growth / Choose Your Own Adventure Part 1
Attend two of the afternoon workshops that meet your specific needs. Each facilitator will offer their session twice to increase the opportunity for you to engage in your preferred focal area.

Sample topics include:

  • Effective decision-making frameworks for challenging circumstances
  • Taking a coach approach to leadership
  • Doing classroom observations well: items to look for and conversation protocol

2:15 – 3:15 PM | Session 4: Tending the Soil of Wellbeing and Cultivating Growth / Choose Your Own Adventure Part 2

  • Select another session from the three breakout options.

3:30 – 4:45 PM | Session 5: Reflection & Closing for Day 1
Share and consolidate learning from the first day. Drawing upon the group’s collective wisdom, we will share ideas, resources, and support one another on any questions that surfaced. There will be time for Q&A with the facilitators.

5:00 – 6:00 PM | Cocktails & Networking
Gather with fellow attendees for cocktails, conversation, and savory bites.

 

Friday, October 2

7:30 – 8:30 AM | Breakfast & Networking

8:30 – 9:45 AM | Session 6: Cultivating Growth Through Role-Specific Consultancies
In this morning’s sessions, you will revisit your learning and reflection from the day before and identify an area of focus. You will engage in role-based discussion around an area of focus and get feedback from peers on a possible path forward. 

10:00 – 10:45 AM | Session 7: Designing Conditions for Sustainable Growth
Engage in designing and sustaining a coherent, equitable, and mission-aligned action plan you can take back to your school. Drawing on liberatory design principles and intentional planning practices, you will identify intended outcomes, key community members, and action steps to bring forward. 

11:00 – 12:00 PM | Session 8: Reflection, Connection, and Next Steps
Share your action plans with your peer group and get another round of feedback before departing. The group as a whole will be guided through a reflection to intentionally close the two days together. 

12:00 PM | Symposium Farewell

12:30 – 2:30 PM | Optional School Visits to Riverbend School or Walnut Hill School for the Arts
Extend your symposium experience with a visit to either Riverbend School or Walnut Hill School for the Arts. This optional add-on includes lunch, a guided campus tour, and a Q&A/discussion with school leaders and community members. You will have the opportunity to learn more about the school’s programs, spaces, and approach while engaging in meaningful conversation with fellow attendees.

 

About the Presenters

Lori Cohen headshotLori Cohen has worked in education (both public and independent schools) for over two decades serving as a teacher, instructional coach, school leader, and professional development facilitator whose expertise spans a range of topics. Lori brings intentionality and a broad array of skill sets to her design and facilitation—all through the lenses of equity and inclusion—and she facilitates with a balance of humility, humor, and heart. In 2019, Lori began working as an independent consultant. She has worked with the Eastern Education Resource Collaborative (East Ed) and served as the Developer of People and Programs for Bright Morning Consulting. Cohen has written articles and blogs for English Journal, EdWeek, the California Teacher Development Collaborative, and Bright Morning Consulting, and she was a contributing author of The Art of Coaching Workbook. She is co-author (with Elena Aguilar) of The PD Book: 7 Habits that Transform Professional Development. Her most recent publication is Integrating Educator Well-Being, Growth, and Evaluation: Four Foundations for Leaders, co-authored with Elizabeth Denevi.

Kawai Lai headshotKawai Lai is a culture transformation consultant with Aug.co and a designer and facilitator partnering with leaders to plan for a more equitable future. She brings an inclusion lens, deep industry expertise, and a visual practice to her work.She is a co-author of The New Team Habits © 2020, which provides practices for leaders to build better team habits. She co-founded VizLit to unleash the visual mind of every learner, formerly served as Vice President of Innovation at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), and helped launch and grow Education Elements.

Prior to her career in education, Kawai was at Deloitte Consulting. She currently serves as a trustee on the boards of several independent schools and as an advisory board member of Defy Ventures. She has an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Methodist University.

Tamisha Williams headshotTamisha Williams (she/her) is a dynamic facilitator based in Richmond, VA, who has dedicated her life to nurturing growth and promoting wellness-centered leadership. Rooted in a family of storytellers, educators, creators, and resistors, her approach is compassionate, reflective, and informed by a deep faith and respect for nature’s wisdom.Equipped with degrees in Family and Marriage Counseling and Elementary and Secondary Education, Tamisha developed her unique approach to leadership through nine years as a director of diversity initiatives. This journey solidified her belief that health, wellness, and sustainable work-life integration are not just nice-to-haves, but the absolute foundation for effective leadership and meaningful change.

Driven by this realization, Tamisha founded Tamisha Williams Consulting in 2021, a coaching and consulting practice committed to empowering BIPOC leaders to thrive without sacrificing themselves in the process. She now partners with driven professionals across industries, delivering transformative coaching, wellness-centered leadership development, and the revolutionary Abuntu framework that puts humanity back into achievement.

Join Your Peers

We look forward to learning together with you!

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations and transfer requests must be sent via email to info@aisne.org. Cancellations received up to 14 days before the start of the event will receive a 100% refund, less a $150 administrative fee. This fee covers the cost of our minimum commitments with our hotel partners; thank you for your understanding. Transfers of registrations from one person to another are permitted up to 3 business days before the start of the event.

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